Roundup: for the week ending 16 December 2012

A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 10 December to Sunday 16 December 2012.

Monday, 10 December 2012

Internet-Based Bahamas Soul Radio Making Waves

Bahamas – Local Internet radio company Bahamas Soul Radio is making waves in cyberspace… more

The Electronic Transactions Act

Trinidad & Tobago – The Electronic Transactions Act was passed in 2011 and has been partially proclaimed by Legal Notices 1 and 8 of 2012… more

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Union To Oppose Digicel Move

Bahamas – As a former Jamaican prime minister arrived in Nassau to discuss the entrance of mobile phone service operator Digicel into the country’s telecommunications market, the BCPOU revealed that it will oppose the move if there are Bahamian companies that can do the job… more

Barbados – Sunbeach Communications, a leading ISP in the Caribbean, selected DiViNetworks as its data capacity expansion provider. The DiViCloud service adds International capacity without any upfront investment… more

Guyana – With the possible passage of a Telecommunications Act and an Amended Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Act in the National Assembly, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Justice Prem Persaud, is eyeing a challenging year ahead… more

State-of-the-art civil identity registry system

Haiti – The government of Haiti has announced it is partnering with the multinational Smartmatic to continue efforts toward the modernization, consolidation and upgrading of the country’s civil and identity registry system… more

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

BTC team hears concerns on Moore’s Island

Bahamas – Abaco’s Moore’s Island residents welcomed BTC’s executive team headed by CEO Geoff Houston, who visited to hear customer concerns and offer some good news following the post-Hurricane Sandy restoration work… more

Cable Builds Us ‘Mirror Image’ Via New $24m Deal

Bahamas – Cable Bahamas yesterday unveiled its third Florida acquisition within three months via its $24 million purchase of a Caribbean Crossings “mirror image”… more

Digicel may face opposition entering Bahamian market

Bahamas – Digicel could face some opposition if it decides to enter the Bahamian telecommunications industry… more

Digicel May Hire ‘Up To 60’ In Bahamas

Bahamas – Prime Minister Perry Christie said Digicel has promised to hire as many as 60 employees if it enters the local telecoms market… more

PM explains Digicel’s proposal

Bahamas – The government is considering an application from regional mobile phone provider Digicel to offer broadband services locally, Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday… more

LIME Dials Up New Customer-Care Firm

Jamaica – In a bid to improve its customer satisfaction, telecoms giant LIME Jamaica will today affirm the Canadian-based telecommunications company, TELUS International, as its customer-service operators at a media launch in Montego Bay, St James… more

Digicel celebrates birthday with flagship store opening

St. Kitts & Nevis – Branded ‘The Bigger Better Network’, telecommunications company Digicel last Friday morning (Dec. 7) officially opened its new flagship store at The Circus… more

Digicel CEO: Number portability good for industry

Trinidad & Tobago – John Delves, Digicel’s chief executive officer, said he believes T&T’s telecommunications technology is on par with the region and the rest of the world and is moving in the right direction with the number portability initiative… more

Is cloud computing the ‘future of the future?’

Trinidad & Tobago – At the National ICT Business & Innovation Symposium recently, Jeremy Geelan, president of 21st Century Internet Group Inc concluded his keynote address by saying, “Cloud computing allows you to create and if you can create, you can be what’s next.” … more

Thursday, 13 December 2012

Digicel wants to offer broadband services in Bahamas

Bahamas – The government of The Bahamas is considering an application from regional mobile phone provider Digicel to offer broadband services locally, Prime Minister Perry Christie said on Tuesday… more

New LIME centre to create scores of jobs

Barbados – Scores of Barbadians will find employment at a new LIME contact centre that’s officially opening here early next week… more

Appeals Court says B.T.L. can now issue dividends

Belize – An oral decision was handed down in the Court of Appeal shortly after two this afternoon, which would allow Belize Telemedia to issue dividends to shareholders… more

TRC launches public consultation on international connectivity

British Virgin Islands – The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (“TRC”) today launched a consultation on International Connectivity, which seeks to address the high costs of international bandwidth connecting the BVI and the rest of the world… more

Curaçao Technology Exchange Is Building The Next Generation Data Center

Curacao – Curaçao Technology Exchange (CTEX) announced that it is building within its data center a major landing station for various regional cable operators… more

Digicel (Guyana) wants end-date for liberalization negotiations

Guyana – Digicel (Guyana) on Thursday said it was satisfied with draft telecommunications laws and urged government to set a target-date by which all negotiations would be completed rather than leave it… more

180 persons to be employed at LIME contact centre in St James

Jamaica – Junior Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Sharon Ffolkes-Abrahams has welcomed the opening of the LIME contact centre in Montego Bay, which will create roughly 180 jobs in coming weeks… more

BBB warns of international Jamaican phone scam operating in Acadiana area

Jamaica – The Better Business Bureau of Acadiana is warning the public of numerous scam phone calls coming into the Lafayette region… more

Pilot Project in Remote Schools to Improve Performance

Jamaica – The Ministry of Education will pilot, for the first time, Live and on Demand Content (educational) in 50 remote schools via Internet Protocol Television (IP TV) and 10 schools via free to air television, by January 2013… more

Experts and Authorities in the Region Hold Dialogue on Cyber Security at the OAS

Regional – The Organization of American States (OAS), the World Economic Forum, and Georgetown University today organized a “Cyber Security Dialogue,” in which experts and government officials of the hemisphere exchanged experiences and discussed the priorities of Latin America and the Caribbean on the issue… more

Friday, 14 December 2012

Telemedia dividend payouts put on pause again by court injunction

Belize – In media broadcast last night it was aired that BTL was getting ready to make dividend payout totaling almost 12 million dollars. This is after the Court of Appeal had refused an injunction against the Telemedia Company… more

Gov’t Seeking Partners to Grow ICT Space

Jamaica – Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, says that the Government is actively seeking opportunities for public-private partnership to develop additional Information Communication Technology (ICT) space to meet growing demand… more

Opposition demands timeline for digital switchover

Jamaica – The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party says the Government must, as “a matter of urgency”, move to get a definite timeline for the proposed Digital Switchover (DSO) from the National Steering Committee… more

Saturday, 15 December 2012

Digicel Partners with Barbadian N.G.O. to Further Greening Efforts

Barbados – Recognizing the ever growing need to increase public focus on energy conversation and environmentally friendly practices, leading Telecommunications company, Digicel, has partnered with the Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA) to help promote its efforts… more

Guyana – There are no deliberate moves to delay the liberalisation of the local telecommunication sector since such a process is critical to Guyana’s national development strategy. That was the view of Chief Whip of the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic, Ms Gail Teixeira, during the post Cabinet press briefing at Office of the President yesterday… more

Forum of User of Geo-spatial Information in Haiti – GEOTECH 2012

Haiti – Mr. Boby Emmanuel Piard, CNIGS Director explained that the purpose of this forum is to bring closer the data users of CNIGS so that they can know the institution, its tools and technologies used … more

Haiti, Digicel National Fund for Education smells fishy

Haiti – President Michel Martelly told the Haitian Diaspora community in Miami that the National Fund for Education, established in May 2011, had accumulated $16 million [US] and not a penny of it had been touched… more

Connect Puerto Rico Releases New Broadband Availability Figures

Puerto Rico – New research unveiled by Connect Puerto Rico shows that nearly 85% of Puerto Rico households have access to fixed broadband at advertised speeds of at least 3 Mbps download/768 Kbps upload, up from 57% one year ago… more